Chapter 10: Your Virtual Girlfriend's Small Gift Has Arrived

Night—

The rain gradually stopped.

Li Qingran gazed nervously at the protective talisman in her hand, preparing to complete the final three steps.

Step one: Recharge the talisman with Spiritual Qi.

She wasn’t sure how much Spiritual Qi was needed to create the talisman using the leftover materials from the immortal-grade formation flags. What she did know was that she had to exhaust all 50 low-grade spirit stones and completely drain her own Spiritual Qi just to fill the talisman enough to activate it.

Rubbing her pale face, she took a deep breath. “Next is step two!”

Carve a name!

The creator of the talisman must use their own blood as ink to inscribe the name of the person to be protected.

This was supposed to be the easiest step, yet Li Qingran found herself more anxious than ever.

“Write it nicely, write it nicely, you must write it nicely…”

She muttered to herself, finally inscribing the characters “Chen Huai’an” onto the talisman.

When she finished, her expression was more pitiful than a crying face. “Oh no, this looks absolutely ridiculous…”

The characters on the talisman were so jagged and crooked they resembled chicken scratch.

Li Qingran had a natural flaw—her handwriting was atrocious.

It wasn’t due to any lack of refinement or civility; before joining the Qingyun Sect, she was the daughter of a military general. Her parents had insisted she learn proper lady-like skills, but she showed no interest, devoting all her attention to horseback riding, spear techniques, archery, and warfare tactics instead.

Back then, when her parents forced her to practice writing, she cried.

On the battlefield, wielding spears and leading charges, neat handwriting wasn’t a requirement.

Now, though, she regretted it deeply.

If she could go back, she’d absolutely take her parents’ advice and practice her penmanship diligently.

“Father said gifts are about the sincerity behind them,” she mumbled, pumping her fist to encourage herself as she moved on to the final step—Gift of Fortune.

As the name implied, it involved transferring one’s fortune to another.

The world's fortunes formed a natural balance; to give was to diminish one’s own. Fortunately, with the talisman as a medium, the transfer was only temporary.

However, the giver would inevitably experience misfortune for a while due to their diminished fortune.

Li Qingran didn’t mind. Regardless of whether her senior needed this modest fortune or not, she only wished for him to remain safe and sound.

After sealing her fortune into the talisman with a secret technique, her complexion visibly worsened. Yet, her smile was brighter than ever.

“I’ll just leave this talisman on the table.”

Facing the ceiling, Li Qingran knelt and bowed, whether or not her senior could hear her. She believed he could.

“Senior, this junior has been greatly cared for by you. My injuries have healed, and I find myself at a loss for how to repay you. So, I’ve crafted this protective talisman as a token of my gratitude. It’s a small gift, but it carries my heartfelt sincerity… I hope you won’t dislike it.”

After her speech, she lowered her head, though her eyes nervously glanced upward to check the talisman on the table.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Whoosh!

The talisman vanished.

Her senior had accepted her gift!

Li Qingran’s heart leapt with joy, and an uncontrollable smile spread across her face. “Thank you, Senior, for not minding my foolishness, hehe.”

Exhausted from her injuries and the all-night effort, she stumbled back to her bed.

It had been half a month since she last slept on such a soft mattress, and the moment her head hit the pillow, sleep claimed her.

Before drifting off, she stared at the ceiling and murmured groggily, “Goodnight, Senior…”

Meanwhile...

“Song Jiaojiao, you’ve made considerable progress lately—already at the ninth level of Qi Refinement? Good. I have something for you to do.”

“What is it?”

“Kill Li Qingran for me!”

“What?! Kill Li Qingran? You… you’re still hung up on that?”

“Hmph. So what if I am? Li Qingran’s reputation in the sect is already ruined. Her death won’t matter. She deserves it! Besides, if you handle it cleanly, her death can easily be blamed on the beasts in Wanqing Mountain. Be good~ If you do this well, I’ll get you a Foundation Establishment Pill.”

“A Foun… Foundation Establishment Pill? Alright, deal! Just wait for my good news!”

The Next Morning

Before dawn, Chen Huai’an booted up Virtual Girlfriend.

【Remaining lifespan: 131 days.】

“Ridiculous!”

What kind of game starts by predicting your death?

Sure, he had a terminal illness, but was it necessary for a game to rub it in?

Then he figured the countdown must refer to his in-game character—the “senior.” He’d probably die in 131 days unless the game provided a way to resolve it.

“Tch, they’ll probably make me buy my way out by then. I see through your monetization scheme!” Chen Huai’an sneered.

A new notification popped up.

【Due to your Heavenly Divination, you’ve incurred backlash from the Dao and lost fortune.】

【Today’s Divination: Li Hexagram—Minor Blessing—Auspicious for marriage, inauspicious for mountain climbing.】

【Tomorrow’s Divination: Zhen Hexagram—Misfortune—Auspicious for cleaning, inauspicious for mountain climbing.】

“Oh, so now they’re giving me warnings?” Chen Huai’an scoffed. “I’ve got one foot in the grave already—what’s the worst that could happen?”

Out of curiosity, he looked up the Zhen Hexagram. It predicted thunderclaps and was associated with the feet. When paired with misfortune, it warned against travel. Misfortune wasn’t as severe as great misfortune but still hinted at injury or loss.

“So, if I climb a mountain, I’ll get struck by lightning? Ridiculous.”

He checked the weather forecast. Clear skies and temperatures above 30°C—no rain in sight.

Closing the notifications, he focused on Li Qingran’s serene sleeping face.

Li Qingran was still sound asleep, having barely moved all night. Her complexion didn’t look great, though. Last night, Chen Huai’an had gone to bed after reading about the mountain. He hadn’t paid much attention to her condition, but he recalled she’d been meditating as usual. The girl worked tirelessly, like a perpetual motion machine.

He tapped her profile and noticed a new debuff: Lost Fortune.

“Strange… Could my Heavenly Divination have affected her?” He pondered the possibility.

Status: Sleeping.

Current Affection Level: 25 (Reverence).

Affection Level 25 has unlocked a small gift.

Your Virtual Girlfriend ‘Li Qingran’ has prepared a small gift for you. It has been delivered.

“A gift system? Classic,” Chen Huai’an muttered, stroking his chin.

He searched for the gift in his inventory but found nothing.

No in-game mail system either. The game didn’t even offer welcome bonuses—it was aggressively pay-to-win.

“Maybe it hasn’t refreshed yet,” he guessed.

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

Perplexed, Chen Huai’an opened it, only to find no one there.

As he was about to close the door, he noticed a palm-sized package on the ground.

“Huh? I didn’t order anything. And who delivers packages at 5 a.m.?”

He picked it up.

The label bore no courier company logo or tracking number—just a line of neat characters:

<Li Qingran’s Small Gift>—For Senior Chen.